News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Clamping Down On Pot Growers |
| Title: | CN BC: Clamping Down On Pot Growers |
| Published On: | 2004-02-06 |
| Source: | Kelowna Capital News (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-18 21:54:57 |
CLAMPING DOWN ON POT GROWERS
RCMP Raids Of Marijuana Grow Operations Will Be Intensified
Kelowna RCMP have busted six marijuana grow operations in the Central
Okanagan in two days and police say we can expect many more to follow.
Const. Don Powell, with the Kelowna RCMP drug section, says they have a
full contingent of drug squad officers now and they're attention is
focussed on marijuana.
"Whenever we get an opportunity to do it, we will," he says.
"The drug units for the last 18 months have been concentrating on a few
groups of cocaine traffickers in town and now we are getting back to marijuana.
"There is a direct link between growing marijuana and importation of
cocaine in Canada."
Powell digs through bags and bags of dried marijuana bud and examples of
new adult plants.
"These aren't for hippies growing these for home-grown use, this is high
grade in large quantities.
"It is put in these bags and shipped to the U.S. in exchange for cocaine
and firearms coming back."
He says organized crime prefers to grow it in Canada, specifically B.C.,
because we have more flexible laws for marijuana production.
On Wednesday, police got one house with 1,000 plants growing, another one
with 65 pounds of dried bud and other with 700 plants.
Another three were taken down on Thursday.
Officers from Westbank, Lake Country and Kelowna have been working the
blitz and they expect more. Lots more.
Police struggle against the belief, founded or not, that marijuana is a
harmless drug.
It isn't so harmless once it is in the hands of organized crime to produce
and distribute, he says.
"We are seeing more and more drug rips where drug dealers were ripping off
other ones," he says.
"They run in using bear spray guns, tazers or guns and rip off grows."
He says they rarely encounter a grow op where weapons of some sort aren't
found.
The difficulty for the police is wondering if the weapons are to protect
the crops from rip-offs or for the police.
Powell says police also have to beware of booby-traps and poor electrical
bypasses.
RCMP Raids Of Marijuana Grow Operations Will Be Intensified
Kelowna RCMP have busted six marijuana grow operations in the Central
Okanagan in two days and police say we can expect many more to follow.
Const. Don Powell, with the Kelowna RCMP drug section, says they have a
full contingent of drug squad officers now and they're attention is
focussed on marijuana.
"Whenever we get an opportunity to do it, we will," he says.
"The drug units for the last 18 months have been concentrating on a few
groups of cocaine traffickers in town and now we are getting back to marijuana.
"There is a direct link between growing marijuana and importation of
cocaine in Canada."
Powell digs through bags and bags of dried marijuana bud and examples of
new adult plants.
"These aren't for hippies growing these for home-grown use, this is high
grade in large quantities.
"It is put in these bags and shipped to the U.S. in exchange for cocaine
and firearms coming back."
He says organized crime prefers to grow it in Canada, specifically B.C.,
because we have more flexible laws for marijuana production.
On Wednesday, police got one house with 1,000 plants growing, another one
with 65 pounds of dried bud and other with 700 plants.
Another three were taken down on Thursday.
Officers from Westbank, Lake Country and Kelowna have been working the
blitz and they expect more. Lots more.
Police struggle against the belief, founded or not, that marijuana is a
harmless drug.
It isn't so harmless once it is in the hands of organized crime to produce
and distribute, he says.
"We are seeing more and more drug rips where drug dealers were ripping off
other ones," he says.
"They run in using bear spray guns, tazers or guns and rip off grows."
He says they rarely encounter a grow op where weapons of some sort aren't
found.
The difficulty for the police is wondering if the weapons are to protect
the crops from rip-offs or for the police.
Powell says police also have to beware of booby-traps and poor electrical
bypasses.
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